Lewis Hamilton is finally rid of what he ‘inherited’ at Ferrari | F1 | Sport
Lewis Hamilton said he has “rebuilt” himself since his chastening first season with Ferrari and is in “the best place I’ve been in a long, long time”. His dream Ferrari debut turned out to be one long nightmare as he failed to record a single Grand Prix podium for the first time in his entire Formula 1 career.
The seven-time champ was thrilled to see the back of a car he “inherited” and says he is much more confident now in the 2026 Ferrari that he has helped to shape. Before driving it again in the final block of pre-season testing in Bahrain, which began on Wednesday, Hamilton said he has rediscovered his enthusiasm again.
He said: “I’ve left everything, all of last year, behind me. I really felt that I spent a lot of time rebuilding over this winter, refocusing, really getting my body and my mind to a much better place. In general, just making sure that I’m able to arrive feeling better.
“I would say I generally feel personally in the best place that I’ve been in a long, long time. And then with the car, I think we’ve started off quite well so far. And it’s an exciting time with this new generation of car as well, because it’s all brand new.”
Ferrari have been encouraged by their pre-season performance so far and could benefit from a launch advantage off the line, amid suggestions they have built a smaller turbocharger which requires less revving. And on Wednesday their car debuted a brand new rear end which earned admiring glances up and down the pit lane, most notably from McLaren boss Andrea Stella who studied it intently.
Hamilton is just glad to have been able to share his own ideas in the design process. He said: “Last year we were locked into a car that ultimately I inherited. This is a car that I’ve been able to be a part of developing on the simulator for the last 10 months and so a bit of my DNA is within it. I’m more connected to this one for sure.”
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Ferrari are desperate to get back to winning ways in the world championship. Their last constructors’ title was won in 2008, when current F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali was in charge, while they have waited a year longer for success in the drivers’ championship. Kimi Raikkonen remains their most recent king of F1 thanks to his 2007 victory – the season in which Hamilton made his F1 debut for McLaren.
Despite an uninspiring start in red, Hamilton insists he still has faith in Ferrari to deliver the title-winning car he craves. The Brit added: “My belief in the team is still absolutely the same. I understand the faith in this team and what they’re capable of and that’s why I joined the team. I knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight thing where we’d have success immediately.
“That’s why I signed a longer deal because I knew more often than not it’s a process. I feel like we’ve also learned a huge amount from last year as a team and there have been changes that we’ve made. I think we’re working better together than ever before so I’m excited for that moving forward.”
